Military and police special forces can encounter terrorists, enemy combatants or criminals using bullet proof vests or hardened enclosures such as bullet proof cars and trucks. Conventional bullets, made primarily from lead, often become deformed and less effective after striking hard targets, especially when fired at handgun velocities. These are not easily overcome and penetrated with normal ammunition, which spreads upon impact. When it spreads, the larger impact area prevents penetration.
Ballistic vests are designed to resist penetration of blunt projectiles, such as are typically used for hand guns. Special purpose handgun ammunition, such as a high-powered, hardened metal bullet is used to overcome ballistic vest and other hard targets. These are essentially bullets manufactured with non-deformable materials that resist expansion upon impact. This feature inherently diminishes the effectiveness of the bullet. Their high power also makes these bullets less favored for normal use both because of recoil and the potential to breach buildings and transit to other unintended targets.
Arrows, knives and ice picks have sharp points and do not have the same tendency to flatten. Thus, they will pierce ballistic vests that do not have an additional trauma plate. Arrows with pointed tips are known to pierce bullet proof vests and arrows with TEFLON tipped razor heads do so more reliably.
An arrowhead is a projectile point or tip of an arrow. It is usually pointed or sharpened to make it more penetrating in a target. For penetrating hard targets, the arrowhead has a clear advantage. An arrowhead's application and extensibility from a bullet is new.
For a great deal of man's history on earth, the sharp cutting edge of a broadhead meant the difference between life and death. It was used to protect family, to put food on the table, and in all of the countless wars and conquests to kill the enemy. As the broadhead and development of guns became prevalent, the razor-sharp cutting edge of the broadhead was replaced with the energy and damage that a bullet can do. The broadhead was relegated to recreational purposed events such as deer hunting and has had little military use since.
With the invention of the broadhead push-out bullet, the broadhead has come full circle to once again be a valuable military and policing tool that will work in conjunction with the bullet, which had replaced it so many years ago. Now, the sharp edge of a broadhead can first cut open an area before the bullet enters to do its damage. It offers the penetrating effect of an arrow and the damage from an expanding bullet in a cartridge of ordinary power.